Severe stomach pains bring me once again to my room. How long must this go on? A few weeks ago I suffered from Giardia, but now I don’t know. It’s just pain. But now I have time to rest, pray, and read. Over the weekend I spent a lot of time on the phone, trying to organize for a group of former child soldiers to come down from the remote village of Abim and join me in traveling to Jinja – back to the Retreat Centre called Mto Moyoni. A few key community leaders needed to have airtime sent to them, so they could call the youth, or money for a piki (motor-cycle) so they could ride out to the homes of the youth. By Monday morning, a number was confirmed... there would be 16 youth coming and 5 leaders from Lotuke and Abim.
Tuesday morning, I awoke at 6:08 am to the first phone call coming from Abim. 8 youth had slept in the town centre, and were ready when the private hire (a small lorry truck) came to pick them up. As the truck was driving away on muddy roads, two youth ran after the vehicle and jumped aboard. They wanted to come to the retreat centre also, but they didn’t know the plan. They were only wearing the clothes on their back. Then another phone call at 6:35 am, saying that the youth in Lotuke were only 5, instead of 8. No worries, I would just do a head count when the whole lot arrived in Soroti.
I went to town at 9 am and arranged for the youth to have hot tea and chapattis when they got to town. I bought two boxes of water for our journey, and ran a few other errands. I decided this time I was going to remain peaceful about what time we made it all the way to Jinja. Only God is in control of African time. The youth stepped off of the truck at 10:30 am and I led them to a tiny restaurant so they could take tea. Then I walked to the bus station to make sure there was still another bus traveling that day that could carry all 22 of us. Yes, the 1 pm bus.
After tea and a rest, the youth walked with me to the bus station. At 6:15 we finally arrived at our drop off point; a mere 215 km from Soroti. There I arranged for 12 pikis to carry all of us and our luggage. After being robbed by 2 of the drivers, we made our way into the gorgeous and peaceful retreat centre. A hot meal was waiting for us. The youth remained quiet – not knowing what to expect.
Then I showed them to their rooms and they settled in for a night of rest. In the morning they woke up to the Nile River, monkeys swinging in the trees, and a beautiful flower garden.
The past two days have been filled with time of teaching and prayer. 11 out of the 16 youth are complete orphans, meaning they have no mother or father. But they have been learning about the Heart of our Father God. Many of them were abducted by Kony’s rebels, and even today struggle with forgiving themselves or others... for murdering, stealing, raping, being raped, and carrying heavy loads. Again, they are listening to the voice of God saying that He had them in His heart before the creation of the world and that He cares for them. 5 young girls stepped up to receive Christ in their hearts yesterday. I have been praying with these youth and trusting in God to guide us all.
In the evening we played sports, shared a meal, and then I showed them the cartoon video called “Joseph, King of Dreams” and they were all amazed at what Joseph went through to remain faithful to God. So far the retreat is a blessing and I look forward to being with these former children of war until Friday night, when we hope to arrive back in Soroti.
Tuesday morning, I awoke at 6:08 am to the first phone call coming from Abim. 8 youth had slept in the town centre, and were ready when the private hire (a small lorry truck) came to pick them up. As the truck was driving away on muddy roads, two youth ran after the vehicle and jumped aboard. They wanted to come to the retreat centre also, but they didn’t know the plan. They were only wearing the clothes on their back. Then another phone call at 6:35 am, saying that the youth in Lotuke were only 5, instead of 8. No worries, I would just do a head count when the whole lot arrived in Soroti.
I went to town at 9 am and arranged for the youth to have hot tea and chapattis when they got to town. I bought two boxes of water for our journey, and ran a few other errands. I decided this time I was going to remain peaceful about what time we made it all the way to Jinja. Only God is in control of African time. The youth stepped off of the truck at 10:30 am and I led them to a tiny restaurant so they could take tea. Then I walked to the bus station to make sure there was still another bus traveling that day that could carry all 22 of us. Yes, the 1 pm bus.
After tea and a rest, the youth walked with me to the bus station. At 6:15 we finally arrived at our drop off point; a mere 215 km from Soroti. There I arranged for 12 pikis to carry all of us and our luggage. After being robbed by 2 of the drivers, we made our way into the gorgeous and peaceful retreat centre. A hot meal was waiting for us. The youth remained quiet – not knowing what to expect.
Then I showed them to their rooms and they settled in for a night of rest. In the morning they woke up to the Nile River, monkeys swinging in the trees, and a beautiful flower garden.
The past two days have been filled with time of teaching and prayer. 11 out of the 16 youth are complete orphans, meaning they have no mother or father. But they have been learning about the Heart of our Father God. Many of them were abducted by Kony’s rebels, and even today struggle with forgiving themselves or others... for murdering, stealing, raping, being raped, and carrying heavy loads. Again, they are listening to the voice of God saying that He had them in His heart before the creation of the world and that He cares for them. 5 young girls stepped up to receive Christ in their hearts yesterday. I have been praying with these youth and trusting in God to guide us all.
In the evening we played sports, shared a meal, and then I showed them the cartoon video called “Joseph, King of Dreams” and they were all amazed at what Joseph went through to remain faithful to God. So far the retreat is a blessing and I look forward to being with these former children of war until Friday night, when we hope to arrive back in Soroti.
Wow . . . God sure is using you in amazing ways. Bless you and your work.
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